The construction of a kampungsusun (elevated kampung) for the evictees of Bukit Duri in South Jakarta, whose homes were demolished by the city administration in 2016, has been put on hold after the latter failed to secure land for the project.

South Jakarta Public Housing and Settlement Agency head Yaya Mulyarso said the administration had not been able to purchase a building called Wisma Ciliwung and the land on which it is located, which was the planned site for the Bukit Duri elevated kampung.

“We planned to buy [Wisma Ciliwung], but the owners could not complete their administrative requirements [of land ownership], so we cannot buy it yet,” Yaya said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that the 1.6-hectare plot of land was owned by several people, some of whom had kept their ownership certificates while others had not.

The administration has also scrapped its Rp 5.98 billion (US$418,738) budget for the Bukit Duri project because it had failed to find vacant land.

The delay has divided the affected evictees, Yaya said, with some choosing to receive the money from a class action suit they had won instead of waiting for the vertical kampung.

Last year, the Central Jakarta District Court ruled in favor of the Bukit Duri residents in relation to a forced eviction conducted by the administration of then-governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, obliging the administration to pay each of the 93 plaintiffs Rp 200 million (US$14,011).

“From the 93 evictees who filed the class action suit, only 49 said they wanted new housing built for them. But later, the number [increased to] 62,” he said. (ami)